AuthorTopic: STO: Season 2 coming this July, Tonnes of New Features (Read 4008 times)

Cryptic Studios have just issued an update via their website announcing the Season 2 update for Star Trek Online.

For those of you who do not know, the "Season" downloads, add new and exciting features into Star Trek Online. There has already been a Season 1 and Season 1.1 update, which added new features such as the Difficulty Slider, Injury System, Auto-Firing and more.

The Season 2 Update is looking to be one of the best updates to the game thus far, and will be adding some of the follow features:

Minigames – Yes, there really is a Santa Claus. Or, at least, there really will be minigames in STO. As of update 1.3, you’ll be able to play Dabo at Quark’s. And we’ll be adding several more minigames throughout your ship and the galaxy in Season 2. There’s a great thread about minigames on the forums. Jump on board and chime in!

Federation Diplomatic Corps – Federation players will be able to focus more on non-combat content and gain rank within the Diplomatic Corps. There are some very cool rewards in there, and some new diplomatic/exploration Episodes and missions. In fact, I played through a new “First Contact” scenario yesterday …

We see a lot of potential for future diplomatic updates.

Faction Free Episodes – The majority of Episodic content we’re adding to STO will be faction-agnostic. Both Klingon and Federation captains will be able to play through this content (although, probably not together – unless you really want to). The Breen Episodes and the high-end episodes in fluidic space will be available to Klingons.

Klingon Exclusive Episodes – Because everyone loves Klingons, right? Season 2 has several Episodes just for Klingons. (The Fek’Lhri are scary, but I so want to fly one of their ships …)

Bumping the Cap – We’re moving the cap up 6 grades to Vice Admiral 1. There will be more rewards and more content for those of you up at the end of the game.

Ship Interiors – I (Craig Zinkevich) have walked the curved hallways of my crew deck on the way to MY ten-forward!

Weekly Content – We’re looking to start rolling out an Episode every week. Like a “STO Tuesdays” sorta thing (it may even happen on Tuesdays, but no promises on that one). We’ll start rolling out weekly Episodes after Season 2 goes live.

Fleet Logos, High End Content, and Beyond … all before the end of July.

If all of that isn't enough, Cryptic is also promising some other minor updates to the game, that will be released BEFORE the Season 2 Update - These minor updates include:

The Accolade System – I know how much you guys have been wanting this, and I have to admit, I’m pretty stoked about it, too. Track your achievements. How much phaser damage have you dealt in your career? How many Federation officers have you shuffled off this mortal coil (assuming you’re playing a Klingon. No killing your allies, guys!)

The Squad System – This will let you team up with other players who aren’t in your level, and lets your effectiveness match so you can play together.

Balance Adjustments – We have those DPS/recharge/global-ability-cooldown adjustments that many of our high-end players have been requesting. Log into Tribble and check them out. Give us your feedback! We’re testing it out now, so this is when we need to hear from you the most. Also – don’t forget to log into Tribble to “play with the devs” early next week. We’ll be there, will you?

UI Improvements – We’re working on a window that will show you when rewards happen during normal character advancement (powers, unlocks, bridge officer reqs, etc.)

Bug Fixes and Improvements – We’re always working on fixes and improvements, because a game developer’s job is never done.

When Star Trek Online released, alot of people commented and felt that it lacked alot of things which were expected - and Cryptic always promised that they would update the game heavily in the months following launch with new features and content.

They DO seem to be living up to that promise, and at Hailing Frequency, we are fairly excited about some of the updates that are coming.

If you are one of those people who have been boycotting Star Trek Online, perhaps July or August will be a good time for you to check out the free Star Trek Online Demo - which allows you to play Star Trek Online for an unlimited amount of time, but only through the first couple of missions!

A lot of this is great news Zach, but should have been included in the launch. Oh well, better late than never I guess! :P I am really excited for the Season 2 update because of a few things.

-Federation Diplomatic Corps: I have been waiting for a first contact mission. I hope the calibre will be up to expectations.

-Faction Free Episodes: The ability to pair up Federation/Klingon ships within the same mission will be great. A chance to see a BoP from a non-lethal perspective!

-Fleet Logos: FINALLY!!

-the Squad System: The ability to play along side your fellow Fleet members who are of a different rank than yourself is most appreciated. Formerly, all one could do was park beside them and stare at their cool ships!

Yeah I'm really excited about the Diplomatic Corps... I just pray they're not a let down. The accolade system seems pretty fun too. I logged onto Tribble last week with my RA and sat for about 5 minutes while all my previously accomplished accolades scrolled up my screen.

I don't really feel that a level cap bump is needed yet. I still feel they could add plenty of content for RA5. How about more Romulan or Cardassian zone STF's?

Im really looking forward to season 2, including my fleet. Me and my friend are always on STO giving DEV's ideas and we dont plan on going anywhere because we have been waiting since 2001 when I first heard about Star Trek Online to play this awesome game. So good luck Devs and keep listening to your players and I really look forward to seeing great things come from guys.